clubmand wrote:

Anonymousrower wrote:

Stopwatch wrote:

Can't say I agree. Club and student events were split for a reason, and an entire boat full of students who haven't represented a given club all season but then turn up at hrr as their "club", simply doesn't make sense, it's trying to circumvent the split that the Stewards put in place.

The other argument that is often used with such crews is that they would get hammered at intermediate level. Well tough, it's not the Stewards responsibility to ensure that everyone has a good chance of winning, if your crew is only eligible to race at inter level but would get hammered at inter level, that's just the way it is, deal with it rather than trying to pot hunt.

The same logic applies to these loyal club rowers that want an easy ride to a henley medal. The standard of club rowing is piss poor right now, schoolboy crews can challenge most of them, it needs to improve and a few crews that do that will get everyone to pull their fingers out and stop thinking that they're owed anything by the stewards because they class themselves as honest club athletes. Why don't you just deal with the fact that this happens every year and get on with it.

This is so disjointed. The standard of club rowing is actually pretty high. At Met when the wind died down c.50% of club crews were below or around the 6.15 mark which is significantly quicker than equivalent scores a decade ago. Schoolboys beating them? The standard of schoolboy rowing is incredibly high. More money and resources are poured into the top end of schoolboy rowing every year, something that the average club can never hope to match. It is only really the top 6-8 schools that are quicker than most club crews as well, Eton, Radley, Pauls, Shrewsbury etc, and they regularly match most temple crews as well. 

What we see in club rowing is the disappearance of many smaller less equipped clubs from competing at Henley. The likes of Staines, Mortlake, Sons of the Thames, Bradford, Weybridge, Broxbourne, Grosvenor, Curlew have all struggled to qualify boats in the last 5 years, and the loss of diversity in the club events is something to be concerned about. 

Pull their fingers out? I am not sure how much more training, time and finances most club crews could put into their rowing. It is this attitude that makes club rowing unsustainable for most, and increases the turnover of athletes at clubs. 

It is about creating a level playing field where athletes of similar backgrounds and commitments can race against each other. Problem is that unlike school and student events the qualification rules for club events are far more of a grey area, and it is these that the stewards need to look at. 

 

I'm not convinced by your arguement for the standard of club rowing being high at the moment. I didn't row at a fantastic school, good for first eights but we never even won that, but when I was in our first eight 6:15 would never have been considered particularly fast in flat conditions. Those top schools would be looking at going sub 6 even in bad conditions, and I certainly would have not been happy with anything above 6:08 or so in calm conditions

What's the best way to raise a complaint with the Stewards about a crew's eligibility? Have they progressed to using email or is it still best to send a handwritten letter by owl?

LRC=Princeton Students wrote:

Chopchopchop wrote:

I row at London and I apologise for our part in this. anyone who's rowed at London knows that London isn't run by the rowers like a lot of clubs and the rowers have no say in what goes on.

Most of us dont agree with the American uni students ringer crew we have going but we can't do anything or won't even be in a crew for Henley.

Incredible. London Rowing Club's Britannia 4+ is four current students at American universities who have rowed as students all year - three at Princeton, one at Florida Tech - and even LRC members are embarrassed by this flagrant violation of the Stewards' 2013 ruling. What a disgrace. 
 

Has anyone thought they may not qualify, 3 lads out of the Princeton 4th 8 and a lad from the FIT 2nd 8. Doesn't sound like a crew that will go too far. 
 

RINGER AT HEART wrote:

LRC=Princeton Students wrote:

Chopchopchop wrote:

I row at London and I apologise for our part in this. anyone who's rowed at London knows that London isn't run by the rowers like a lot of clubs and the rowers have no say in what goes on.

Most of us dont agree with the American uni students ringer crew we have going but we can't do anything or won't even be in a crew for Henley.

Incredible. London Rowing Club's Britannia 4+ is four current students at American universities who have rowed as students all year - three at Princeton, one at Florida Tech - and even LRC members are embarrassed by this flagrant violation of the Stewards' 2013 ruling. What a disgrace. 
 

Has anyone thought they may not qualify, 3 lads out of the Princeton 4th 8 and a lad from the FIT 2nd 8. Doesn't sound like a crew that will go too far. 
 

You clearly have no idea of the standard of US uni rowing, Princeton 4th varsity is still of a standard that would be at the top end of uni and club rowing in the U.K.

When are the entries published by HRR?

The Lon 4+ aren't real Princeton Students. They are a group of 26 year old farm hands, who row for carnegie lake society rowing association. Expect for one guy who does go to princeton, but not anymore because he got kicked out and transferred to UW, but he's not even on the rowing team.